Technical Field
This document discloses an overcap with a hinged spout capable of dispensing a metered amount of granular or powdered product.
Description of the Related Art
Dispensing containers are well known and have many different uses. One such use is in the food industry, and specific examples include jars and other similar containers, which contain solid foods (such as spices) in a particulate, granular or powder-like form. Many containers for such powdered and granular materials include a measuring scoop for dispensing a specific amount of powder. A user wishing to dispense a predetermined amount of powder from such a container must grope for the scoop within the powder, while often soiling his or her hands and the tabletop or work surface. Further, the user's hands make contact with the powder and therefore expose the powder to any germs or bacteria located on the user's hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,944 eliminates the need for measuring spoons, scoops or cups by providing a hollow cap, equipped with its own measuring device. However, while the structures disclosed in the '944 patent provide a built-in means for dispensing predetermined amounts of a powder, the structures of the caps and containers of the '944 patent are complex, difficult to manufacture and cumbersome to use. Hence, a need still exists for an improved and simplified structure for providing a container and/or cap equipped with an integral means for dispensing metered amounts of powdered or granular product from the container.